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HS4 Pro on Ubuntu 20.04 - Guidance

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    HS4 Pro on Ubuntu 20.04 - Guidance

    I have been reading the articles (Stickies) for installing HS4 on Linux. Specifically -- https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...59#post1432459


    Shows the 'correct APPS' to install which are different from the original post in the sticky.

    I have installed Ubuntu on an HP t610 Thin-Client box with 8GB RAM and a 120GB SSD and the added BroadCOM WiFi and BT card and antennas.

    After a little fiddling to get xRDP to work without color or login issues and crashes. I am looking to give the HS4 installation a whirl.

    I am currently running the Windows version on an old Thinkpad with Win7 (x86) and 4GB RAM. Granted it has faster CPU, the constant warnings about Windows Updates and Windows 7 EOL - and given that Just about everything in HS is done via web page - thinking I may give LINUX a try.

    Here are my questions:

    1) Anything other than the apps listed in the article above going to be needed?

    2) I see there are steps to get HS4 to run on startup - anything as a 'gotcha' about ROOT access/support I need to be watchful of?

    3) I have the HomeSeer SmartStick+ for my Z-Wave which I had to install drivers for it to work on Windows -- I see no mention about them for LINUX. Is it going to auto-detect it and install what is needed?

    4) My plans at some point is to use HSTouch to create screens which I am going to use on mounted tablets in my home. Any gotchas?

    5) I also have multiple ALEXAs and SmartThings - any gotchas? I have the SmartThings plugin installed on the Windows Install. I also have the BLLock and HSBuddy plugins installed.

    Any and all advice is welcome.

    Curtis

    #2
    The link you posted above is the best there is for D.I.Y and for the stick, it should auto install well on Linux (Debian/Ubuntu) but you still need the Z-wave plug-in. And everything else should be fine else you may find some road blocks with some legacy plug-ins

    - You may also need to execute this command after installing Mono
    jon00 , To move off the old outdated vbnc compiler to vbc:
    Code:
    install -p /usr/bin/vbc /usr/bin/vbnc

    Eman.
    TinkerLand : Life's Choices,"No One Size Fits All"

    Comment


      #3
      Just to note that the Linux version of HS is not officially supported by HST but there’s more than enough help available here to get you there.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Eman View Post
        The link you posted above is the best there is for D.I.Y and for the stick, it should auto install well on Linux (Debian/Ubuntu) but you still need the Z-wave plug-in. And everything else should be fine else you may find some road blocks with some legacy plug-ins

        - You may also need to execute this command after installing Mono

        Code:
        install -p /usr/bin/vbc /usr/bin/vbnc

        Eman.
        I tried this - here is what I got -- after I had run this command:


        apt-get -y install mono-devel mono-vbnc flite chromium-browser aha ffmpeg alsa-base alsa-utils

        [sudo] password for curtis:
        root@HP-t610-WW-Thin-Client:~# install -p /usr/bin/vbc /usr/bin/vbnc
        install: cannot stat '/usr/bin/vbc': No such file or directory


        Do I need to reboot?

        Curtis

        Comment


          #5
          It also doesn't hurt to reboot. I always install from here : https://www.mono-project.com/downloa.../#download-lin
          But if you don't see any errors while running the server then you are good to go!

          Eman.
          TinkerLand : Life's Choices,"No One Size Fits All"

          Comment


            #6
            ,

            Are you experienced with Linux? Just checking before I go into any gotchas that you may already know about.

            Roger D

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Roger D View Post
              ,

              Are you experienced with Linux? Just checking before I go into any gotchas that you may already know about.

              Roger D
              Roger,

              On a 1-10 scale, about a 2 (maybe 2.5) :-) But I am good at following directions. I am not looking to do much (hopefully) at the LINUX level - as I am hoping that most everything is done in the HS4 Web Console.

              I think my biggest concerns are PLUG-INS. and getting it setup to auto-start on reboot. My current HS4 system is on a Windows 7 Pro ThinkPad - with 4GB RAM and SSD. I have it set to REBOOT itself every Sunday Night. It then aut0-starts HS4. The whole process takes about 2 minutes tops (unless there is an update to apply). I had thought of adding more RAM and putting Windows 10 (64-bit) Pro on the ThinkPad and re-installing. I am rally looking more for stability - and with Windows constantly updating - and I have seen this before where HS4 has stopped working. I RDP'd into the laptop and it was waiting on a reboot (due to an update) - which bought the entre system to a halt.

              I seem to have a stable UBUNTU 20.04 setup now on this HP t610 ThinClient - I am able to RDP into it. But there is where I have stopped anything (for the last few days -- as it was the weekend and I had things to do outside <grin>).

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by bearhntr View Post

                I tried this - here is what I got -- after I had run this command:


                apt-get -y install mono-devel mono-vbnc flite chromium-browser aha ffmpeg alsa-base alsa-utils

                [sudo] password for curtis:
                root@HP-t610-WW-Thin-Client:~# install -p /usr/bin/vbc /usr/bin/vbnc
                install: cannot stat '/usr/bin/vbc': No such file or directory


                Do I need to reboot?

                Curtis
                That command was incorrect/not necessary (vbc vs vbnc).

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by bearhntr View Post

                  Roger,

                  On a 1-10 scale, about a 2 (maybe 2.5) :-) But I am good at following directions. I am not looking to do much (hopefully) at the LINUX level - as I am hoping that most everything is done in the HS4 Web Console.

                  I think my biggest concerns are PLUG-INS. and getting it setup to auto-start on reboot. My current HS4 system is on a Windows 7 Pro ThinkPad - with 4GB RAM and SSD. I have it set to REBOOT itself every Sunday Night. It then aut0-starts HS4. The whole process takes about 2 minutes tops (unless there is an update to apply). I had thought of adding more RAM and putting Windows 10 (64-bit) Pro on the ThinkPad and re-installing. I am rally looking more for stability - and with Windows constantly updating - and I have seen this before where HS4 has stopped working. I RDP'd into the laptop and it was waiting on a reboot (due to an update) - which bought the entre system to a halt.

                  I seem to have a stable UBUNTU 20.04 setup now on this HP t610 ThinClient - I am able to RDP into it. But there is where I have stopped anything (for the last few days -- as it was the weekend and I had things to do outside <grin>).
                  Just make sure the plugins you want to use are linux compatible. HS4 can start with boot no problem. On linux, weekly restarts are not necessary, my server is stable for several weeks at a time. Also if you use ubuntu server and just use ssh for management, it will use hardly any ram. I only have 6 plugins, but my HS4 server on ubuntu server 20.04 uses less than a GB of ram.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Eman View Post
                    It also doesn't hurt to reboot. I always install from here : https://www.mono-project.com/downloa.../#download-lin
                    But if you don't see any errors while running the server then you are good to go!

                    Eman.
                    Eman,

                    I went to that link - but none of it make much sense - as in which one do I download, etc.. In Step 2 -- I see this:

                    2 Install Mono

                    sudo apt install mono-devel

                    The package mono-devel should be installed to compile code.

                    The package mono-complete should be installed to install everything - this should cover most cases of "assembly not found" errors.

                    The package mono-dbg should be installed to get debugging symbols for framework libraries - allowing you to get line numbers in stack traces.

                    The package referenceassemblies-pcl should be installed for PCL compilation support - this will resolve most cases of "Framework not installed: .NETPortable" errors during software compilation.

                    The package ca-certificates-mono should be installed to get SSL certificates for HTTPS connections. Install this package if you run into trouble making HTTPS connections.

                    The package mono-xsp4 should be installed for running ASP.NET applications.



                    Not sure which one I should use. I see in the long line I used above: apt-get -y install mono-devel mono-vbnc flite chromium-browser aha ffmpeg alsa-base alsa-utils

                    ....that the devel one is chosen - guessing I go with that one.

                    Curtis

                    Comment


                      #11
                      [UPDATE]

                      I did a clean install of Ubuntu 20.04 on another ThinkPad T61 with 8GB RAM and 120GB SSD. Amazing how fast it all installed. Just some 'like to knows' from the LINUX gurus.

                      1) What do you think about the GNOME Extensions (like OpenWeather, Dash to Dock, HDD LED, Apt Update Indicator, etc.)? I especially like the HDD Activity one. Since I am using xRDP to access the laptop remotely from desktop with 32" monitor. :-)

                      2) Anything else I should install to make Ubuntu life easier. The xRDP is awesome once I fixed the multiple PW prompts upon connecting. I wish I could figure out how to do other things without being prompted for a password. I thought I had already put myself into the ADMIN (sudo) group. Like making some changes in settings - I get prompted for a password.

                      3) Playing around with an easier way to change the background and other colors - even though I love purple - it is too much -- LOL

                      Curtis

                      Comment


                        #12
                        You'll need mono-devel & mono-vbnc.

                        The HS Knowledge Base has an Installing HS4 on Linux article:
                        https://docs.homeseer.com/display/HS...g+HS4+on+Linux

                        Comment

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